Residential Schools
Long before Europeans came to North America, The Aboriginal people had a highly developed way of life. This however all changed when the Europeans decided to settle among them. For the Anglophones and the French people of Canada it became more and more evident that something drastic would need to be done in order to fit them into their ideal perception of what it was to be Canadian. With the help of the church the Canadian government implemented the residential school system, which was devoted to providing a disciplined based ideal that promoted rejection of the aboriginal culture in favor of the dominant white population. The residential system would eventually become an official Canadian policy for the education of Indian. Even though there are those that state that the government was just looking out for the greater good of society. The fact is that the aboriginal people faced many hardships as a result, they lost their cultural identity and spirituality through the loss of the ability to speak their language, practice various ceremonies and rituals, but most importantly the ability to see their families. Many people during their stay within these institutions experienced both physical and emotional abuse, scaring them for the rest of their lives. Of the many tragedies that took place within these institutions the first being the assimilation of a culture. Many people were taught to be ashamed of their own cultures and belief system in order to promote the new one that was given to them. “It was the destruction of the Indians was the goal, and not the improvement.”[1] From the beginning of time the aboriginal people enjoyed a simple way of life and this transcended into the way the children were educated. “Traditional education of aboriginal children was mainly informal, experiential process. Nevertheless, it provided young people with specific skills, attitudes and knowledge that they needed in everyday life.”[2] Learning is for living and survival, so
Cited: Barnsley, Paul. "Critics of residential school agreement emerge." Windspeaker 25, no. 6 (Sept 2007): 15-15. Brasfield, Charles R. "Residential School Syndrome." BC Medical Journal 43, no. 2 (2001): 78-85. Deer, Kenneth. "Canada Accused of Genocide." The Montreal Gazette, (February 15, 1998): 1-2. English Studies in Canada 35, no. 1 (March 2009): 27-45 Grant,Agnes Pemmican Publications Inc, 1996), 1-310. Miller,J. R.. Shingwauk 's Vision: A History of Native Residential Schools. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1943), ix-569 ----------------------- [1] Kenneth Deer, Canada Accused of Genocide ( The Montreal Gazette, 1998), 1 [2] Erica Neegan, Excuse me: who are the first people of Canada? A historical analysis of Aboriginal education in Canada then and now, trans. International Journal of Inclusive Education (University of Toronto, 2005), 5. [3] J.R Miller, Shingwauk’s Vision: A History of Native Residential Schools, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1943), 17. [5] Erica Neegan, Excuse me: who are the first people of Canada? A historical analysis of Aboriginal education in Canada then and now, trans. International Journal of Inclusive Education (University of Toronto, 2005), 7. [6] Agnes Grant, No End of Grief: Indian Residential Schools in Canada,(Winnipeg, Manitoba: Pemmican Publications, 1996),191. [7] Charles R Bradfield, Residential School Syndrome, (Vancouver, British Colombia Medical Journal, 2001), 79. [8] J.R Miller, Shingwauk’s Vision: A History of Native Residential Schools, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1943), 224. [9] J.R Miller, Shingwauk’s Vision: A History of Native Residential Schools, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1943), 187. [10] Agnes Grant, No End of Grief: Indian Residential Schools in Canada,(Winnipeg, Manitoba: Pemmican Publications, 1996), 225. [11] J.R Miller, Shingwauk’s Vision: A History of Native Residential Schools, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1943), 335. [12] J.R Miller, Shingwauk’s Vision: A History of Native Residential Schools, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1943), 327. [13] Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson, The Residential School Experience: Syndrome or Historic Trauma, (Calgary: University of Calgary, 2006), 5. [14] Kenneth Deer, Canada Accused of Genocide ( The Montreal Gazette, 1998), 1 [15] Paul Barnsely, Critics of Residential School agreement Emerge, (Vancouver, Windespeaker, 2007), 15. [16] Matthew Dorrell, From Reconciliation: Reading What” We Now Recognize” in the Government of Canada’s 2008 Residential School Apology, trans. English studies (Hamilton, McMaster University, 2009), 32. [17] Matthew Dorrell, From Reconciliation: Reading What” We Now Recognize” in the Government of Canada’s 2008 Residential School Apology, trans. English studies (Hamilton, McMaster University, 2009), 33.